PNP completes overhaul of Caloocan police force

A total of 1,143 policemen from the Caloocan City Police Station were officially relieved over the weekend as they were all ordered to undergo retraining and reorientation before they are reassigned to posts outside the city.
Only the Caloocan police chief and his deputy for administration remain in the police station.

The retraining and reorientation will be held at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City starting Monday, October 2, said Modequillo. He confirmed that only he and Chief Inspector Ilustre Mendoza, the assistant chief of police for administration, will stay in the station.

During a ceremony, which was attended by the three key officials, the relieved personnel and their replacements, most of them coming from NCRPO’s Regional Public Safety Battalion, met face to face.

Those relieved had a dressing down from the still visibly-incensed Abayalde while the newcomers that will constitute the new Caloocan police force were given instructions and directed to strictly follow police operational procedures in conducting anti-crime operations.

“They were reminded that they too will not be spared if they would not do their sworn duty that is to serve and protect the people,” Empiso said.

The overhaul of the city police came after a string of controversies involving its members, particularly those from Police Community Precincts (PCP) 2 and 7, including the deaths of minors Kian de los Santos, Carl Angelo Arnaiz, and Reynaldo de Guzman.

In another instance, PCP-4 personnel were reportedly involved in an operation carried out without a search warrant which resulted in burglary.

Caught in a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera installed inside the victim’s house, the PCP-4 police personnel were seen with a gun-wielding ‘police asset’ and a minor who was seen stealing cellular phones and watches.

Empiso, quoting Albayalde, said the retraining and reorientation will be done at the same time and not by batch as ordered by no less than the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa.
Some officers and personnel, who have been with the Caloocan police for many years and who have settled their families in the city, exhibited mixed reactions. However, most of them could not express their sadness over their reassignment because of a few bad eggs in the police force.

“But as a true soldier, we have to follow our superiors, anyway we all are here to serve the people as it is our sworn duty wherever we are assigned,” they chorused.